LS 5663 Spring 2012: Responding to Poetry

Module 6: Poetry By Kids

Bibliographic information:

Nye, Naomi Shihab, and Ashley Bryan. Salting the ocean: 100 poems by young poets. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2000. ISBN: 9780688161934

Review:

Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets is a collection of original poetry written by poets unknown to readers but well known to award winning poet and compiler Naomi Shihab Nye. These young poets were at one time or another students of Nye’s. Each gave her permission to publish their poetry and so she compiled them all in this one collection. Their use of metaphor, repetition, rhythm and mood results in a collection of quality work readers will enjoy. The subject matter and authentic voice will appeal to readers and perhaps the emotions and points of view expressed will ignite readers’ imaginations as well. The collection is arranged with one poem per page with a few drawings throughout. A table of contents, index and pagination is included. The poets range from first to twelfth graders from Texas, Maine, Wyoming to Oregon. Each poem is a unique surprise and demonstrates the array of style and talent that is present in young students.



Highlighted Poem:

(p.57)

Strong Emmett

 

My name came from my great-great-great grandfather.

He was an Indian from the Choctaw tribe.

His name was Dark Ant.

When he went to get a job out in the city

He changed it to Emmett.

And his whole name was Emmett Perez Tenorio.

And my name means: Ant; Strong; Carry twice its size.

 

By Emmett Tenorio Melendez

Introduction/Activity:

5th grade: presentation of research material



After students complete a research assignment to discover the origins of their name (first, last or both), share the poem from this collection on page 57 that presents Emmett’s findings. Have them present their information in a poetic form.



LS 5663 Spring 2012: Responding to Poetry

Module 6:  Janeczko Collection

Bibliographic information:

Janeczko, Paul B., J. Patrick Lewis, and Tricia Tusa. Wing nuts: screwy haiku. New York: Little, Brown, 2006. ISBN: 9780316607316

Review:

Filled with figurative language, onomatopoeia and homonyms, Paul Janeczko’s WingNuts: Screwy Haiku, is humorous and clever. The metaphors, similes and overall playful language cause readers to think, connect and interact with vocabulary and explore words for meaning and even other words! This collection is a great tool to stimulate readers to look for associations within their expanding vocabularies. Janeczko refers to the poetry in this collection as Senryu, “the kissing cousins of Haiku” and explains that they “are poems of snickers and laughter”. In fact it can be almost impossible to distinguish Haiku from Senryu because the patterns and styles are the same but the differences lie in the poetry’s subjects and mood. Traditionally, Haiku are written about nature and do not include humor. Senryu are often funny and may be written about various topics. Without a doubt, this collection will make readers giggle. Janeczko, a well-known poet and compiler, has joined J. Patrick Lewis and Tricia Tusa in assembling this very entertaining and well written collection of unique poetry. The collection is arranged with one to two poems on two page layouts written by Janeczko or Lewis with Tusa’s ink and water color illustrations accompanying them. There is no table of contents, index or pagination included in the collection.



Highlighted Poems:

(1) On Ferris Wheel

I regret French fries, milkshake-

Those below agree.

(2) Freedom vanishes

As the babysitter arrives…

Kids are tied in nots.

(3) Grumpy bear growl

Blends with chirp of rusty hinge…

Mom and Dad snoring.

 

Introduction/Activity:

2-5th grade: point of view, homonyms, onomatopoeia



After reading WingNuts: Screwy Haiku, re-read these three poems. For the first poem, ask students to create a Haiku from the point of view of those on the ground below the Ferris wheel rider. For the second poem, ask students if they can write their own poem using a homonym. For the third poem, have students create a poem highlighting sounds or onomatopoeia.

LS 5663 Spring 2012: Responding to Poetry

Module 6: Free Choice

Bibliographic information:

Creech, Sharon. Love that dog. New York: HarperCollins, 2001 ISBN: 0060292873

Review:

Award winning author Sharon Creech created an authentic, honest voice for Jack in Love That Dog as he response in verse to his teacher’s assignments, his favorite poet and his own emotions. Jack doesn’t want to write poetry because that’s what girls do. However, after reading Walter Dean Myers’ poetry, Jack discovers that he has much to say. Creech teaches readers about voice, style and mood through Jack’s one sided conversations with his teacher as readers infer the teacher’s words based on Jack’s responses and questions. Readers also join Jack on his journey to discovering the poems hidden in his heart. Creech’s quality writing and hero’s honest emotion and reactions will appeal to readers and may even inspire them to attempt to create their own poetry. Most readers will be able to relate to Jack’s feelings towards poetry, heartbreak over losing his dog and excitement about meeting a favorite author.

Love That Dog is arranged with one poem on each page with dates added for a realistic journaling feel. Because the style of the book is free verse, there is no table of contents or index but the pages are numbered. Creech has however, added a section at the end of the novel titled, “Some of the poems used by Miss Stretchberry” which includes the ”real life” poems that Jack response to in his journal. Either whole or parts of famous poems are printed in this section and allow readers to fully understand the connection Jack was able to make with each poem.



Highlighted Poem:

(p.80-81)

JUNE 1

Mr. Walter Dean Myers Day

I NEVER

In my whole life

EVER

Heard anybody

Who could talk

Like that

Mr. Walter Dean Myers.

All of my blood

In my veins

Was bubbling

And all of the thoughts

In my head

Were buzzing

And

I wanted to keep

Mr. Walter Dean Myers

At our school

Forever.

Introduction/Activity:

2-5th grade: characterization

Read Love That Dog.  Re-read pages 80-81.  Discuss the feelings Jack was expressing in this poem. Ask students how they would feel if they were able to meet their favorite author. Have students write letters to their favorite author asking him/her to come visit their school. Students can refer back to pages 55-59 and read Jack’s letter to Walter Dean Myers to get ideas.

LS 5663 Spring 2012: Poetry Performance

Module 5:  Sidman Poetry

Bibliographic information:


Sidman, Joyce, and Pamela Zagarenski. This is just to say: poems of apology and forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007. ISBN: 9781428735682

Review:

Joyce Sidman is the author of many award-winning children’s poetry books. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night was awarded the Newberry Honor. Two of her books that are Caldecott Honor winners are Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems, it also won a Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, which also won the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award. She teaches poetry writing to school children and participates in many national poetry events.

This Is Just To Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, is a beautiful poetry collection written by students who worked with their teacher and Sidman to publish poems of hope, compassion and empathy. Since each poem is written by a different poet, the variety of voice is exciting and appealing. Readers are able to understand the personal feelings of each poet as he/ she deals with shame, regret, confession and pardon.

Divided into two parts, Part 1: Apologies and Part 2: Responses, the collection is arranged with one poem on each page accompanied by Pamela Zagarenski’s bright, collage and computer graphics illustrations. There is a table of contents to help readers locate specific poems or responses but no index is provided. An introduction by a student editor explains the context in which these poems were written allows readers to have a better understanding of the emotion behind each poem.



Highlighted Poems:

(to Maria)

Not Really

I’m sorry I bumped your books that day

And scattered them all over

(but not really).

I’m sorry your locker mirror disappeared

And mysteriously ended up in my desk

(but not really).

I’m sorry I pulled that clip out of your hair

And you had to chase me down the hall

(but not really).

I’m sorry I made you yell at me

Till your face got red and your eyes sparkled

(but not really).

I’m sorry you keep saying

You won’t go out with me.

(Really.)

by Bobby

(to Bobby)

What Girls Want

Girls want a lion with a great shaggy mane.

Girls want a horse, fast and sure.

Girls want a coyote that sings with its heart.

Girls want an eagle, soaring through mountains.

Girls want a breeze that whispers its name.

Girls want a snowfall that makes the world new.

Girls want a dog that wags all over.

Girls want a cat that purrs to the moon.

Girls want a hedgehog that carries it own armor

But doesn’t

Always

Use it.

Just to let you know.

by Maria



Introduction/Activity:

7th grade: poetic element-repetition or pattern

Discuss how poets use patterns and repetition to emphasize the mood or tome of their poem. Ask students, “What sorts of moods are created when patterns are used?” Once upbeat/fun, somber or serious are mentioned, re-read Not Really by Bobby and Maria’s response, What Girls Want. Have students explain the tones the poems convey by repenting certain phrases. Working with a partner, allow students to create two responsive poems using repetition to evoke a specific mood or tone and perform them with their partner.



LS 5663 Spring 2012: Poetry Performance

Module 5:  Performance Poetry


Bibliographic information:

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, and Jeffrey Thompson. The midnight ride of Paul Revere. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1999.. ISBN: 9780792276746

Review:

Born in Portland, Maine, in 1807, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow became a national literary figure by the 1850’s and famous around the world by the time of his death in 1882. American life and history charged his imagination and by 1854 he had become one of America's first self-sustaining authors.

Considered one of America’s greatest poems, the classic Longfellow rhyme, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere allows readers to follow Revere through the countryside of Massachusetts on the night before the first battle of the American Revolution. Filled with repetition, metaphors and similes, the secretive tone of the narrative translates easily into an oral performance with a rhythmic hoof beat “sound track” throughout. Although the original language may be too difficult for young readers or performers, the anxious mood that the poet portrays of that historical night is one that will attract all readers and entertain audiences of all ages.

Because the poem is a narrative, the illustrator, Jeffrey Thompson did not include in his version of the poem a table of contents, index or pagination.  However, Thompson does incorporate a historical note to clarify facts and a map to show Revere’s actual route. His illustrations generate a deeply mysterious sensation that enhances the drama of the well-known poem.  The two page layout features the text embedded in Thompson’s colorful, animated, graphic-style illustrations.  It is the contemporary flavor in Thompson’s images that makes this particular interpretation more attractive to younger readers.

Highlighted Poem: (first and final stanzas)

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march

By land or sea from the town tonight,

Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch

Of the North Church tower as a signal light,

One if by land, and two if by sea;

And I on the opposite shore will be,

Ready to ride and spread the alarm

Through every Middlesex village and farm,

For the country folk to be up and to arm."

…

But mostly he watched with eager search

The belfry tower of the Old North Church,

As it rose above the graves on the hill,

Lonely and spectral and somber and still.

And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height

A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!

He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,

But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight

A second lamp in the belfry burns.

…

You know the rest. In the books you have read

How the British Regulars fired and fled,

How the farmers gave them ball for ball,

From behind each fence and farmyard wall,

Chasing the redcoats down the lane,

Then crossing the fields to emerge again

Under the trees at the turn of the road,

And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm

To every Middlesex village and farm,

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,

And a word that shall echo for evermore!

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,

The people will waken and listen to hear

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,

And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Introduction/Activity:

4th grade: rhythm and mood

After reviewing the story of Paul Revere’s ride, read The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Ask students what techniques the poet used to create rhythm and mood. Once students have offered word choice, rhyme and beat, pass out rhythm sticks or blocks and have students create the beat of a galloping horse. Wear an overcoat, hat and leather gloves to perform the poem to the students’ galloping rhythm. Provide stick horses, hats and coats or gloves and allow students to perform in groups for one another.

LS 5663 Spring 2012: Poetry Performance

Module 5:  Hopkins Award Poetry


Bibliographic information:

Schertle, Alice, and Petra Mathers. Button up!: wrinkled rhymes. New York: Harcourt Children's Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. ISBN: 9780152050504

Review:

The national Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children’s Poetry is awarded yearly to an anthology of poetry or a single poem published for children by a living American poet or anthologist. The Hopkins Award is administered by The Pennsylvania Center for the Book and Penn State University Libraries.

The 2010 Hopkins Award winner, Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Schertle provides many examples of alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification and repetition. However, the collection’s real appeal is that it is written from the perspective of familiar inanimate objects such as hats, underwear and other clothing. These fifteen clever poems will stimulate readers’ imaginations as they explore the unknown world of items to which they can relate. Every poem is created with quality language and style by one award winning poet especially for this collection.

Readers may enjoy the personalities and moods of these common articles of clothing and may be inspired to look at everyday events from their perspectives. Using the table of contents readers can easily find a specific poem although there is no index. Each two page layout features a poem and an original watercolor illustration by Petra Mathers.

The Hopkins Award website states that the 2010 judges said that Button Up! is full of humor and will “draw children in with laughter and love”. The animated poems in Button Up! encourage expressive and dramatic reading that will urge even the most reluctant readers to read with enthusiasm.



Highlighted Poem:
p. 4

Bertie’s Shoelaces

Good old Bertie,

he lets us hang around.

It doesn’t bother Bertie

when we drag along the ground.

We’re not uptight

as our Bertie Buddy knows.

We’re hang loose laces and

we don’t do bows!

Introduction/Activity:

4th grade: personification

After reviewing the definition of personification, read Button Up, Wrinkled Rhymes. Re-read Bertie’s Shoelaces and have students identify phrases in the poem that demonstrate the use of personification. Have students create original poems using personification about school, home or a vacation written from their backpacks’ point of view.

Module 4: LS 5663 Spring 2012: Biography

Poetry Across the Curriculum: Biographical Poetry

Bibliographic information:

McGill, Alice, and Michael Cummings. In the hollow of your hand: slave lullabies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN: 0395857554

Review:

Alice McGill’s In the Hollow of Your Hand; Slave Lullabies is a collection of poems passed down by members of her family who were slaves. The rhythmic storytelling and nonsense rhymes will stimulate readers’ emotions and imaginations as they expose them to the real life hardships slaves endured. McGill explains that these poems should be thought of as “musical stories” that express love in spite of the pain and sadness these families suffered. She also provides readers with insight into the lives of the poets/singers through the eyes of their descendants.

The poets are unknown outside of the author’s friends and family. McGill confesses that although she doesn’t know the origin of all of the poems, she tried to determine the sources of these descriptions of trials and celebrations her ancestors experienced. Readers will enjoy the silly as well as slightly frightening moods these poems convey.

The thirteen poems are arranged in a two page layout of a poem, artwork and background information about each poem or poet over two pages. Sheet music as well as a CD are included and allow readers to connect with the poetry on a more meaningful level. Along with an acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and other percussion instruments, McGill is the singer and the storyteller on the accompanying CD. Artist Michael Cummings has chosen various fabric and paper bits to create intense and powerful quilt collages to illustrate this collection. There is no pagination, table of contents or index; however the readers will appreciate how the introduction explains the connections the poems have to the real life people in McGill’s life. She also offers an “About the Lullaby” section that tells readers how and why the music and lyrics may have changed due to the traveling that may have occurred from plantation to plantation.



Highlighted Poem:

Rock de Cradle, Joe

(last stanza)

 

Joe went to de pig pen.

Slipped an’ he fell in.

All de gals commence to laugh

An’ Joe commence to grin.

Rock de cradle, rock de cradle,

Rock de cradle, Joe.

Introduction/Activity:

2nd grade: mood

Before reading Rock de Cradle, Joe, ask students if they have ever made up a nonsense song or poem with their friends. Read the story the author includes about the lullaby and then read the poem to students. Ask:  What is the mood the poem portrays?

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 4 Social Studies

Poetry Across the Curriculum: Social Studies Poetry

Bibliographic information:

Hemphill, Stephanie. Wicked girls: a novel of the Salem witch trials. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2010. ISBN 9780061853296

Review:

Hemphill’s phrasing and word choice in Wicked Girls is emotional, descriptive and entertaining. Written in proper old English, it may at times be difficult for some readers to understand. However, readers who have some basic background knowledge of the history of the trials will have a slight advantage over readers who have no prior knowledge of these historical events. Hemphill offers great insight into what it may have been like for both the accused and the accusers. The quality of each poem intensifies the drama and danger that surrounded those involved in these trials.

Hemphill created these poems for this collection based on her research and investigations into the lives of those who were a part of the hearings that took place in the 1600’s known as the Salem Witch Trials or Hunts. The two sections titled, “The Real Girls and What Happened to Them” and “The Real People the Girls Accused” provides readers with an awareness of why and how the author wrote this poetry.

However, the arrangement is difficult to follow and readers may have to consult the descriptions before each poem many times to understand who is speaking. There are too many characters to keep track of and so readers may find themselves confused throughout the book. The story tends to get lost on the reader when he/she has to concentrate on each character’s specific set of circumstances and personality so closely.

The book is organized with headings before each poem to let readers know who is sharing. Page numbers, a table of contents and an index are provided. This collection is not illustrated; however, the list of resources, character descriptions, and factual information about the “real” people that may help readers with little or no background knowledge of this period in American history.



Highlighted Poem:
p. 346

Go Home

November 1692

After a fire rages,

the forest path dusts away.

it may be safe to walk,

but where do you go

when all directions wear

the same black ashen despair?

Introduction/Activity:

5th grade: mood

Explain that this poem is depicting the atmosphere in Salem Village after the trials and hangings had taken place. Read the poem. Ask students to describe the mood in Salem Village. How do you think the accusers feel?

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 4 Science

Poetry Across the Curriculum:  Science Poetry

Bibliographic information:

Asch, Frank, and Ted Levin. Cactus poems. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1998. ISBN 0152006761

Review:

The nineteen poems Asch and Levin include in Catus Poems teach readers about the desert. Through rhyme, repetition, personification and other figurative language readers understand the food web, the habitats and the animals that are unique to desert climates. If the animals aren’t familiar to the reader, the poems provide enough intrigue to draw readers in and make the unfamiliar more memorable. These poems will inspire every reader to learn more about these distinctive locations and may even persuade them to travel to the deserts and experience these unusual places for themselves.

Each poem is carefully crafted to uncover how plants and animals have adapted to thrive in a desert setting. The secrets of animal behaviors and plants’ functions are all revealed to readers. Levine’s photography illustrates this collection of imaginative portrayals of the Sonora, Mojave, Great Basin and the Chihuahua deserts perfectly.

Although there is only one poem per page there may be several photos used to illustrate it. There is no table of contents or index to help readers locate specific poems but the introduction shares the author’s inspiration for the poetry he included in this book. Also, each poem is accompanied with notes offering information about the topic and the photos used to illustrate it.

Highlighted Poem:

Bobcat Watching

I thought

I was tracking

a bobcat.

I was

sure of

his prints

in the mud.

I felt so smart,

so quiet

and sly.

Hoping to

catch a

glimpse of him,

I hid behind

a tree. Then suddenly

I turned and saw

him

calmly

watching

me.

Introduction/Activity:

2nd grade: point of view

After reading the whole book, reread Bobcat Watching and ask students to write a poem describing the human behaviors the bobcat may have been observing the whole time the writer was looking for the bobcat.